A Million Ways to Slay a Raven
by Jessenia
Summary: TBC. AU. 2x1 Duo and Wufei, as the best Preventers agents, are assigned to protect and solve the mystery of a strange boy. But Duo can't help getting more involved when he feels a connection between them.
1. Smart Boy, Blind Boy

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A Million Ways to Slay a Raven

Jessenia

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Chapter One: Smart Boy, Blind Boy

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"Raven. Wielder of powerful magic. Friend and guide to man. A powerful ally, helper to human beings." She smiled and he could see a glimmer of knowing in her eyes. She was keeping something from him. "Suits you, doesn't it?" He frowned. No, it didn't suit him. There was nothing spiritual or powerful about him. "It suits you." She said with contentment, disregarding the doubt that was written on his face. 

He looked dubiously at the cards and frowned. Raven. 

"You have a question, don't you?" She stated, after a moment. Then, in what looked almost like one movement of her frail body she flicked her long grey hair over her shoulder, tugged the wolf pelt closer around her shoulders, and tossed the eagle feather that was knotted into her braid away from her face. She was the picture of careless grace, and he found himself lost in the lines on her face, traces of the ages she had seen. Her eyes glowed and he could not see what color they were, one moment faded blue, the next ashen violet, then unearthly grey. She smiled at him, patiently awaiting the future. 

He shifted in his seat. He did have a question, but did she have an answer? "Ask." She said simply, and he smiled.

"Why, then?" She smiled, a look of approval in her eyes.

"Smart boy. You may succeed yet." She stood slowly, her cape a collage of animal pelts, feathers in her hair that was so grey it was silver. She walked away from the fire, grabbing something from a shelf in the corner. It was a chain, but on it there was a ring of polished onyx. She handed it to him with a smile on her face. "Wear this. Follow your heart, trust your emotions. You may succeed yet." She chuckled at his perplexed expression, and vanished as soon as he took the ring.

He sat alone by the fire, looking up at the moon and the sky full of stars. He didn't want to go, and he wasn't sure if it was because he was not ready to part with the calming effect that this bower had on him, or if it was because he could not return to the place and the people from whom he had fled.

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The boy stood, holding on to the metal pole by the exit of the bus, his other hand was clutching a simple ring of some dark stone that reflected the light, its surface was so smooth. He was tall and slender, with shaggy brown hair that looked soft and rebellious. His eyes, what may have been deep prussian, were misted over. 

The boy was blind.

He seemed to sense where he was and pulled the cord, even though the bus driver already knew his stop. He liked to pretend that he still had control over where he was. That he was still very much in charge. When the bus came to a halt, he picked up the cane that he had propped against an empty seat and slowly stepped down, waiting for the whoosh of the bus' door before stepping down.

The air was cold and he bowed his head low, burrowing into the long scarf he wore. He was hesitant to leave that morning, but had felt compelled after the dream. Well, he knew better than to call it that, but it simplified things. 

Since the accident, he had learned to live through his dreams. Loving how they showed him a world he had forgotten. He had met Her in his dreams. But he had known before it had happened, and, in many ways, She was the only person he could trust. Because She was the only one who had been there for him through it all. As strange and enigmatic as She was, She felt like a grandmother to him. 

He pushed open the door to his room, whistling softly and waiting. Listening as a familiar jingling echoed through his small loft, and waited until the warmth of soft fur was pressed into his hand. He scratched the head, favouring the spot behind the ears that he knew was a gesture that Shinigami appreciated. She led him over to the sofa and he flopped onto it appreciatively. 

He was thankful that he had her, there were numerous times when having her near was comforting and had made it possible for him to survive through one ordeal or another. But there were times when he needed to remember how it felt to be alone, to walk on his own, even if he did have to take the cane, but still.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, letting Shinigami lick his hand. 

When he next opened his eyes it was to the loud, insistent ringing of the phone. "Must be eight o'clock" He mumbled as he sat up, leaning over the arm rest and groping for the phone. "Hello?"

"Heero?" He sighed. Yup. Eight o'clock. It was his sister's habit of calling every night at eight. He wasn't sure why, they never really had anything to talk about. His older sister had been living on one of the colonies for a long while, and they had grown distant. Yet still, she always phoned, as if making the extra effort. 

"Yeah, it's me." /Who else would it be?/

"Hi. Uhm... So you okay?"

"Yes."

"How's...what's her name?"

"Shinigami? She's fine."

"What on earth made you choose such a morbid name for her. She's a little angel!" He snorted. When Shinigami had first walked into his life, he'd just come out of the hospital where he had been hooked-up to dozens of beeping machines, blind and not in the best of mind-sets. Of course he was a little morbid. 

He felt Shini's paw come up on his lap, and he reached out his free hand, groping for her head. He had forgotten to feed her dinner. He had forgotten his own dinner... "I was thinking of coming down there for a bit. You know, to earth. Just to see how you're doing." He sighed.

"I'm fine, Relena. Everything is fine." He wouldn't tell her about the dream, she would never understand. Relena liked things simple and clear. Something like the Woman would throw her off. Confuse her, and worry her. Why was her brother seeing this strange woman? He had never told anyone about Her. Not even his friends, who he would trust with anything.

"You're sure? I know I'm pestering you...it's just. I remember how you were and now..." There was an aggravated sigh and Heero sat back on the sofa. They'd been through this before. Of course he had changed, how could she ever expect him to stay the same? How could anyone?

"Relena. If I need your help, I'll call you." She frustrated him. She always made him feel weak and helpless and he hated that. He had survived for over a year on his own. He didn't need her, and he certainly was not going to put-up with her just so she could work-out her guilt. He didn't care if she thought that he was being rude. Of course he was, and so was she. "I have to feed Shinigami now. And..." He stopped. He wanted to ask her to stop calling if she was just going to pester him like this, but on one level, it was nice to know that there was someone out there who cared enough to set-aside time for him each day. "..Thanks." He said, and frowned, unsure of where that came from. Yet she seemed to perk-up.

"No problem, Heero. I love you."

"Bye." He put the phone down, slightly proud that he no longer had to fumble to put it in its place. He stood and immediately felt Shini's head beneath his hand. He smiled, wondering how he would have made it through if he were forced to stay alone. 

In truth, it had been his idea to move into a loft by himself, but that was because he couldn't stand having people baby him, or feel their sympathy as he stumbled as he walked. His friends were different, they knew what he needed and when. But he could hardly impose himself on them, even if they had each offered him a spot in their homes. It hadn't felt right. 

This just felt right.

He opened the cabinet and pulled out the dog food, filling Shini's bowl and refilling her water. Pausing a moment, listening to see if she would eat. That was another thing he loved about her, she wouldn't touch her food until he had his own, and was seated at the table with his own meal. But, as he often did nowadays, he did not make his way to the table, but sat on the floor, eating beside her. 

She was often the only company he had. 

There was a knock on his door, and both he and Shinigami looked up, equally surprised. He held out a hand as he rose to stand, and she obediently led him over. 

That was one thing he hated. Opening the door when he did not know who was on the other side. It was silly, what did he have to hide from? But it bothered him just the same. "Heero? It's us!" He sighed, grabbing the handle and pulling the door open.

"I wasn't expecting you." He murmured and stood aside. Two distinct footsteps. They both were there. "Hello, Trowa. Quatre." He felt a soft chuckle. 

"Honestly, Heero, who did you think it would be?" Heero felt a flush rise to his cheeks and shrugged. "Did we interrupt dinner?" Heero looked down at his feet as he heard the blonde-haired boy move towards the kitchen. "Oh, Heero. Really. Is that all you ate?" 

"I wasn't hungry. I'll clean it up." He added when he heard Quatre moving the cereal bowl. But Trowa caught his arm.

"He's been worried about you all day. Let him fuss." Heero sighed and nodded, letting Trowa lead him to the living room. "What have you been up to?" The soft voice asked. Heero let his head fall to rest on the back of the sofa.

"I went walking." He knew Trowa. Knew that the boy was watching him closely, trying to discern what, if anything, was wrong. Trying to find the reason for Quatre's bad feeling, because there was always a reason. 

"Alone?" By this, the boy meant whether or not he had taken his seeing-eye dog. He nodded. 

"I just wanted some time to think." He heard Quatre make his way over and sit in the plush chair. It was time for the interrogation. 

"What were you thinking about?" Quatre asked. "I mean...what do I mean... I don't know." There was a flustered sigh. Then he heard the sound of the small boy adjusting in the big leather chair. "I couldn't sleep last night. When I woke-up today, I was completely restless and I thought.... where did you get that?" Heero frowned, wondering who this was directed to. Quatre must have caught himself. "I mean, the necklace, Heero. It's new." Heero raised a hand to toy with the ring. He'd forgotten it, and yet had always been aware of it. It had, in the short time he had been wearing it, been completely comforted by its presence, a slight weight on his neck.

"I bought it." He lied. "When I was on my walk." He shrugged. "Don't worry. Quatre. I'm fine." 

"I think we should go out. It's such a beautiful night out." Heero knew this technique, had been subjected to this before. He knew how edgy they were around him, with every right to be, but still. Heero hated being surrounded by people. It was hard for him before, when he could see them, but having them around, knowing they were there, but not being able to tell who they were or assess their intentions, it was worse. He hated feeling helpless. He almost sighed in relief when Trowa spoke, appreciating how well the boy knew him and was willing to help.

"I found a nice little coffee shop. Dogs allowed." It was a hint, but Heero liked this subtle pointer. It was Trowa's way of telling Heero that now was the time to relax and let whatever had been bothering him go.

"Sounds fine." Heero said. 

"I'll get Shini-chan's harness!" Quatre piped up. The blonde haired boy had never been more relieved than when the sweet German Shepard mix was first brought over to his friend. She was an absolute angel and she had worked wonders on his friend. She was a little protective of Heero, something which made Quatre happy even if it had worried the person who had trained her. But it wasn't as if she nipped or growled. Just kept a protective eye on him, and if something seemed out of sorts, she move just a little bit closer, and shift between Heero and whatever it was that she was weary of. 

After Shinigami was harnessed, and Heero had once again put on his long coat and wound his scarf about him, they were ready to go. It was a nice night, cool and fresh and Heero could smell snow in the air. "How can you smell snow?" Quatre asked.

"I just can." He muttered, feeling a bit defensive, but Quatre laughed. When they made it to the coffee shop, Heero had been at first nervous. The found a booth and Heero listened as Trowa and Quatre spoke to him about what they had been up to that day before a waitress came. Minutes later, Heero was holding a hot cup of hot chocolate. It was too late for coffee, he'd already missed too much sleep, and laughing about Trowa's accident in gym class, when the basketball had accidentally hit his gym teacher in the back of the head. "Accidentally" being a term used loosely, since everyone knew Trowa had perfect aim, and also really hated his gym teacher.

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"Holy shit." He muttered, looking up as the bells jingled.

"What?" His companion muttered, biting savagely down on his biscotti.

"Check him out." His companion turned, still chewing, and did just that.

"Who, the brunette with the messy hair?" He nodded, enthralled. "He's blind!" 

"God damn, man, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means he's blind. What the hell are going to do with a blind boyfriend?" He shrugged.

"What wouldn't I do with him?" His companion flushed and mumbled something as he took a quick sip of his coffee. 

"You're sick."

"Thanks, man! But seriously. He's damn fine!" The boy sat back in his chair, following the blind boy as he slowly made his way, with two other boys, to the back of the café. 

"I thought this was supposed to be about me? I thought you were trying to lift my spirits!" The boy returned his attention to the dark hair figure, still savagely eating his biscotti. He glowered.

"You said you were feeling better." The dark haired boy shrugged.

"Well, your ogling of the café's patrons isn't helping. And still..." There was a frustrated boy, and once again the violet eyes darted towards the booth the blind boy had settled in.

"I'm not ogling the patrons, just one patron. And he is hot, so there. You know, you've got to let things go, man. I mean, I'm sorry things didn't go your way, but it was your own fault, it was a perfectly simple mission that you had to fuck-up by blowing it out of proportion. You're fault. But, as usual, you're not getting any flack for it, because you're in with Ms. High and Mighty, so suck it up. And quit moping. I can only tolerate so much of your bullshit before I feel like... Hey man, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Duo, I'm listening."

"God damn straight. I'm getting sick of your constant moping." There was a pause, then the eyes flicked back over to the dark haired boy. "When are you gonna ask Sally out, anyway?" The boy flushed. "Yeah, sure, pretend all you want, I know all about you. Damn, that boy is fine..."  
  


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TBC

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Jessenia: Yeah, I know that was a little obscure but let me know what you think!! Keep reading, this was set-up!! I really hope you're all enjoying!! 


	2. The Boy Rode the Bus

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A Million Ways to Slay a Raven

Jessenia

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Chapter Two: The boy rode the bus

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"Duo!" The voice startled him and he spun around quickly, eyeing the woman suspiciously.

"What?" She finally caught up and snatched his arm, waving a bunch of papers at him and dragging him into an office. She tossed him easily into a chair.

"We've got a lead!!" Duo sighed and propped his feet up on the desk.

"Great! We've been needing one." He snorted. "Now a lead in which case? We have over fifty that we've been waiting for exactly that." She tossed the folder of papers at him.

"On the assassination attempt. Last year or so. Remember? That wealthy family that was making a political name for itself?" Duo leaned forward excitedly.

"No shit, Sal, that's great!! The Yuys, wasn't it? Holy shit! So I was right? It was an assassination attempt? Kick ass!! Man! What's the lead?" The woman nodded, equally excited.

"It's all in the folder." Duo flipped it opened, scanning the written document that greeted him, frowning slightly.

"I don't remember a son. I only remember the daughter and that stupid petition to ban all firearms." He flipped the page and stared. "Holy shit!" Sally Po frowned at him.

"What? You look like you've seen a ghost." Duo shook his head, raising the photograph of the supposed youngest son of the Yuy family.

"I saw him." Sally smiled.

"No kidding, where?" Duo looked dumbfounded.

"At a coffee shop, last night with Wu." Sally smirked and shook her head,

"You were checking him out, weren't you." Duo blushed.

"What's it mean to you?" She shrugged.

"He is kinda cute, isn't he?" Duo leaned back as if shocked.

"Kinda? Honey, we're not gonna argue about what is 'kinda' attractive around here. This guy's a fucking God. But then, I'm talking to someone who has a crush on Mr. Justice." Sally blushed and Duo snickered. "Yeah, serves you right. Now what are we going to do about him?" He indicated the photo. Sally sat down on the corner of her desk.

"It's hard to decide. As far as we know, he should be safe. But I think some reconnaissance is in order. He has two other siblings. One sister, two years older, Relena. And an older brother, Zechs, I'm not sure of his age, at least five years older than Heero." 

"I thought they were all killed in the crash." Sally shook her head.

"Heero was the only child on the plain. Relena became ill and had to stay home, and Zechs had never had an intention of going. It was just Heero, his parents and his grandparents." Duo sighed.

"This calls for Wu-man, too. Sorry, I'm gonna have to be stealing him from you." Sally rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Duo, sometimes I just feel like smacking you silly." Duo bounded over and blew her a kiss.

"Ooh, I always liked kink!" He winked and closed the door.

"He's such a nut." Sally muttered to herself, before returning to her work.

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"Are you going to return to school after Christmas?" Heero turned his head towards Trowa's voice. He wasn't sure. There was so much he wasn't sure of these days. He survived each day by making sure that he did whatever his heart told him was right, but school was somewhere in the distance, neither bad nor good. Just grey.

"I haven't decided." 

"We miss you." Quatre said. Heero nodded, pushing open the door to his loft. "Hey, Heero?" Heero stopped by his door and looked at where he thought Quatre was standing. 

"What?"

"Maybe we'll bring our homework over on Monday. You know, hang-out for a bit?"

"Monday? Sure." 

"Good-night." Trowa patted him on the back, and Quatre said good-bye. Heero just listened to their retreating footsteps before he sighed and opened the door, groping for lights before remembering that it wouldn't make a difference. He grunted at the habit and shut the door. Kneeling down, he found Shinigami and fumbled to undo her harness.

"Ready for bed?" He asked, and she licked his nose. "Me too."

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"Stop bouncing around, Duo! Sit still, the point is to be inconspicuous!" Duo settled down and leaned over, watching as Heero stopped in front of his building and turned. Two boys came up to him.

"Okay, who are they again?" Wufei frowned, squinting at the two new figures and then taking a sip of his coffee.

"Quatre Rabberba Winner. The son of that ridiculously wealthy family." When Duo nodded emphatically Wufei looked at the other one. "Trowa Barton. Also the son of a wealthy family. They both have known Heero for a long while."

"Friends." Duo stated and nodded approval. "They seem nice enough." He said when he caught Wufei looking at them suspiciously.

"We don't know anything about them, Duo. Anyone could have fixed the plain. But someone close to the family had to know about it. It was completely secret." Duo rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but look at them. Honestly, Wu, you can't read people for your life!" Wufei snorted. 

"What can you tell about any of this."

"I can tell you one thing. Sitting in a car or following them around isn't going to get us anywhere..." Wufei looked at his partner nervously.

"Duo, you're not going anywhere near him." Duo raised an eyebrow. "No, Duo. You're not going undercover." A mischievous grin spread over the American's face, "No, Duo. No way! Absolutely not!!"

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The boy rode the bus. 

One hand grasped the pole by the door, the other rested on the head of what looked like a German Shepard mix. He was yummmy. Shaggy brown hair lying unruly in front of his face. Hints of what might have been bright exotic eyes were misted slightly.

Duo smiled and watched the blind boy pull the cord requesting his stop, and followed him out. He was looking for an opening, some reason to introduce himself. He vaguely noticed that the brunette had by-passed his home and was walking down the street. Duo flicked a wave at the Chinese boy who was watching the house from his car across the street, and kept moving. 

It was cold. 

Fall was giving way to winter. Duo pulled his battle-jacket closer around himself. As much as he loved his job he hated the waiting that it so often entailed. If there was one thing Duo Maxwell couldn't stand, it was waiting.

He watched as his target moved into a dense crowd and picked-up his pace, wanting to maintain a visual on the boy, for admittedly more than one reason. He smirked as the shaggy head moved back into view. Then, all at once, it wasn't there. 

Duo squinted at the crows then smacked himself in the head, running up to the boy who lay sprawled on the side-walk, shocked and stunned expression written on his face, as the dog barked loudly. "Watch where you're going you asshole!" Duo shouted at whoever it was who had shoved the boy to the ground. "You okay?" He asked as he ran-up. He looked at the German Shepard and ran-through his knowledge of guide-dogs. He vaguely recalled something that said he had to... "Do you need help?" 

The boy paused and patted the dog's head. "Please." Duo was surprised, he had been expecting a rebuff, and was already working-out how he could explain the same stranger from the street being...about everywhere the boy went. He caught the hand that was tentatively held in mid-air and pulled the boy gently up. The dog's tail was wagging and Duo chuckled.

"She's beautiful. What's her name?" Here the boy blushed and patted the dog's head again.

"Shinigami." Duo looked up into the soft features of Heero Yuy. Up close, he was stunning.

"Death." Heero shrugged and took hold of her harness, preparing to walk-off. "Wait. Would you and Shinigami want to get a cup of coffee?" The boy paused, a little stunned, no doubt. How often did a complete stranger stop you in the street and ask you to go for a cup of coffee with him. 

Shinigami looked at her master questioningly, and Duo got his second surprise for the day, just as Heero was opening his mouth to speak, a voice called out, startling them both.

"Heero! What are you doing here? How are you?" It was the blond, Duo noted, and frowned. "I was just going out for lunch. I can't stand the cafeteria sometimes!" Duo smirked at the petit blond who had a mammoth fortune, and was still eating the crap at the school cafeteria. He mentally reconfigured his opinion of the boy. "Oh. I'm sorry." This was directed to him, and Duo was surprised. "I didn't see you there. I'm Quatre Rabberba Winner." Duo looked at the outstretched hand.

"Duo. Duo Maxwell." Quatre nodded and glanced at Heero, a puzzled look on his face before smiling broadly at Duo. 

"How did you meet Heero?" Duo shrugged.

"I didn't, really. Some idiot bowled him over on the street and I came over to see if he was okay." Quatre looked at Heero with concern.

"Are you okay, Heero?" It seemed to Duo that the blond was not asking if he had been hurt in his fall, but of something else. He caught a slight flush to the pale features of the brunette and filed this away. Heero nodded. "Well. I think you should be rewarded for you good deeds. How about some lunch with us?" Duo looked at Heero, wondering if the boy would protest.

"Sure."

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"I don't know how the hell you did that." Duo smirked at his friend.

"Do what?" Wufei scowled.

"Work your way into their group. Within a week, no less." Duo shrugged.

"They're really friendly. Well, Quatre's really friendly. Trowa's extremely protective, and Heero's extremely shy. It was actually pretty easy. Me being extremely outgoing and all." Wufei snorted.

"That being the understatement of the year." He got a punch in the arm for that. "Well, here's your stuff." He passed a small case to the braided boy who looked at him questioningly.

"What stuff?" He looked at the case. "No. No way. I'm not wearing a bug." Wufei looked at his friend with uncertainty. 

"Why the hell not?"

"I'm there! If something gets said, then I'll pass it on!" Wufei shook his head.

"Evidence, you dumb-ass!" Duo shook his head. "Look, Duo, I don't know what your problem is, so I'm going to ask you one more time in the hopes that you've just forgotten yourself. Please put-on the bug." Duo shook his head and Wufei lost patience. "These people are not your friends, Duo! You are an undercover agent working for Preventers!" Duo scowled.

"I'm going to say this one more time, in the hopes that you have just were too deaf to hear me." Wufei was startled. He had never heard Duo speak with such a low, calm and deadly voice. "I'm not wearing a bug. I'm not betraying their trust. I'm here to protect Heero, not gather evidence on him." Wufei sighed. The boy was right. Technically it was Wufei's job to do the reconnaissance and Duo's job to guard the boy. It wasn't as if the bug were completely necessary, he had already bugged the boy's house and tapped the phone. But somehow having Duo choose Heero and his friends over Wufei and his work hurt.

"Fine." He acquiesced. And Duo nodded once, before opening the car door and getting out. Stretching once before slamming the door closed and jogging across the street. Up to the familiar building that Wufei had basically been watching for two weeks.

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"You have a cat? Since when do you have a cat?" As Duo made his way into the loft, following Trowa who had let him in, they heard Quatre's shocked voice.

"I found him." Duo smiled. There was a defensive pout on Heero's face that was absolutely adorable. "He doesn't bother Shini-chan, and he had no place to go." Quatre chuckled.

"God, Heero. Using that mentality you're going to own half the animals in this city! Nothing bothers Shini-chan, she's an angel!" Heero flushed and continued to scratch behind the ear of his dog, whose head was resting on his knee. Duo smiled and caught Trowa's attention. "Camera?" He mouthed, and Trowa smirked, making his way to a dresser by the wall and pulled one out. Tossing it to Duo who happily took the picture.

"I heard that." Heero muttered. "I don't appreciate you snapping photos of me without telling me. 

"Sorry Heero, but really, if I had told you that sweet expression would have left your face! And that's why I wanted the photo in the first place." Trowa shook his head. There was a quiet ping, and Trowa looked up.

"Dinner's ready." Duo watched Heero rise and make his way over to the table. He was startled out of his appreciation of the boy by a strange sinister call. "What the hell is that?" He called, and Quatre looked at the window.

"A crow?" Duo looked to where Quatre pointed and squinted. 

"Nope. That's definitely a raven." There was a plunk and both boys turned to see Heero, flushed slightly and picking up his glass of water where he had dropped it. "You okay, Heero?" The boy nodded vaguely and Trowa came over to clean up the mess, brushing off the murmured apology.

"How do you know it's a raven? I mean, you don't see them around here that often." Duo shrugged.

"Trust me. When I was a kid my dad used to take me out all the time. We had this little cottage out in the country, and my dad loved birds. He would always take me into different places to bird watch. I've stared at so many of those things, close-up and at a distance I can definitely tell." Duo snorted. "Once there was this time when we were out hiking and we were looking for a penguin. Because penguins were my favourite bird and I've always wanted to see one. He didn't tell me that they weren't from this area, he humoured me. We were out walking for hours. I was sorta sad, cause I didn't get to see a penguin, and he says to me that one day, I will get to see one. And then a bird landed on his head and pooped on him." Duo shook his head. "That's supposed to be good luck, or so he said. But when I was fourteen, on my birthday, my dad gave me a ticket to fly to the arctic and see the penguins." He sighed, remembering that moment before he looked up to catch Quatre's eye, but realized the blond was staring at Heero. Duo, puzzled, glanced over and saw Trowa equally paused, looking at his friend with uncertainty. 

When Duo finally looked at Heero, the boy was sitting still, but he was shaking slightly. "You okay, Heero?" He asked, seriously concerned. He had never seen that look on the boy's face. Heero shook his head slowly.

"Excuse me." He said, and calmly stood. He walked to the bedroom on his own, though Shinigami resolutely followed, and then he shut the door. Duo frowned. 

"What did I say?" Quatre sighed, motioning that they should sit in the living room.

"Heero wasn't always blind." Quatre sighed, and rubbed his forehead. Duo tried to look shocked. In truth, he had never heard much about the Yuy crash. As far as he knew, everyone had died. He had never heard of the existence of Heero, and as far as he knew the boy could have been blind since birth. Rich families usually hid children that were viewed to be defective in one way or another.

"What happened?" He asked, both eager and hesitant to learn more. 

"It was his eighteenth birthday and his parents had organized a trip to the Caribbean. They had been visiting L7, you know that colony where it's pretty much always winter? It was one of the first colonies made, so they didn't have the weather regulations totally prepared. Anyway, pretty much it's always cold, and in some spots, there is permanent snow everywhere. So you can imagine, it was a relief to be leaving that behind." Duo nodded. He hated the cold.

"When they were getting ready to leave, his sister, Relena, suddenly starts sneezing and she's beat red. It was the fastest anyone has ever gotten sick, but it was pretty bad, so she was going to stay home. Heero was going to postpone the trip, he and Relena were still pretty close at that point, but then Zechs..." Quatre clenched his fists and turned away. Duo was startled, there was actual anger in the blonde's soft features. Trowa saw it too and continued the story.

"Zechs, Heero's older brother by about six years, started a fight. He and Heero never got along." There was a snort from the blonde, which startled Duo because it seemed so out of place coming from the soft-spoken polite boy.

"Why?" Duo asked, filing this all away in his head.

"Both of Heero's parents favoured Heero. He wasn't spoiled like Relena or greedy and moody like Zechs. Heero was really...happy. And Zechs would always pick on him because he knew that their parents favoured Heero." Duo shook his head, wondering what kinds of things Heero had to put-up with from his older brother. "Mr. Yuy got so frustrated with Zechs, and Mrs. Yuy was so upset that Heero's birthday was essentially ruined that they grabbed him and left." 

"It was the right thing to do." Quatre muttered. He was shaking a little. "It was the right thing to do, but it went wrong." Duo frowned, unsure if he wanted to hear more.

"It was a family trip, so Heero's grandparents were there. Before they even got out of the colony the plain experienced difficulties and it crashed. Everyone was dead. Everyone, except Heero. It was freezing cold, the plain had gone down on a mountain area where there was permafrost. In the middle of a blizzard no less. It took a long while for the rescue crew to find the plain, and when they did, they were pretty sure Heero wouldn't make it."

"It was awful." Quatre muttered, clutching the shirt by his chest as if he himself had experienced the pain. "They said Heero had been conscious after the plain went down. Just enough time to get free of the wreck. When we saw him there was blood all over him. He was probably trying to figure-out where he was, what had happened. But he couldn't see..." Duo sat back in his chair, wondering what that would be like. Freezing, alone, and blind. Shaking the corpses of your family, praying that one of them could be there for you.

"I should go talk to him." He walked over the bedroom door and knocked twice before letting himself in. Closing the door behind him.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Raven." Heero sighed and opened his eyes. Looking at her directly. "Raven." She called again and he frowned.

"What?" She smiled.

"You followed your heart." He looked away. "Keep following it. Don't ever doubt. Remember my gift to you." He frowned, wondering if she meant the necklace only. He nodded and she laughed. "Sweet child, you know I am here for you."

"But I don't even know who you are." She shrugged.

"Would it make a difference?" He thought about it, and shook his head. A label would be all she could give him, for that was, in a way, all that a name was. He knew that she had been there, always been there for him. And she would always be there for him. That was enough.

"You have questions." He nodded. "Keep them. Keep them inside and let them burn a little bit. Just enough. And don't ever doubt what your heart tells you." He nodded and she reached out a hand, stroking his cheek softly. It felt like coming home. He had missed this feeling of being loved absolutely.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Duo sat on the bed and looked down at the sleeping boy. He had tried to talk to Heero, but it was clear that bringing-up the crash or anything about his family was far too painful, so Duo had settled for trying to tell him jokes, and Heero had fallen asleep to his constant prattle about too many things. 

Duo smiled. "You are beautiful." He whispered, raising a tentative hand and stroking the pale cheek. To his surprise the boy sighed and leaned in to the caress. "Beautiful and too damn sexy for you own good. I'm going to go crazy before I figure-out your mystery." He stood and smiled. "But that sure as hell isn't going to stop me." 

  
  


-----------

TBC

  
  


Jessenia: So, comments? Anything? Please? If you have questions, please email them to me so I can give you a direct response because I've found that when I answer questions in this space, nobody bothers to look for their answers. 

little_shaman29@yahoo.ca

I hope you're all enjoying!!


	3. Spinning

====================================

A Million Ways to Slay a Raven

Jessenia

====================================  


Chapter Three: Spinning

---------------------------------------------  
  
  


"You don't find that slightly suspicious?" Duo shrugged.

"Well..." Wufei sighed heavily.

"She got sick within the day! Violently sick! She even calls him every night at the same time!" Duo shook his head.

"No, it doesn't fit." Wufei crossed his arms and leaned against the desk.

"What doesn't fit?" Duo tugged at his hair in frustration then threw his hands in the air.

"It just doesn't fit. It doesn't seem right." Wufei shook his head.

"Look, you've been around the blond too much. You don't have some freaky sixth sense!" Duo rolled his eyes.

"Look, did I say my frickin' Heart was talking to me? No! I just said it didn't fit. Now fuck off and cut me some goddamned slack! I'm getting sick of your constant bullshit, Wufei!" Wufei scowled and looked at his friend closely. There was a tense silence in which Duo paced and Wufei tried to piece it all together.

"You're falling for him." Duo stopped pacing and gave a warning glare. "You are." Duo tossed his braid over his shoulder and resumed his pacing. "You can't deny it. You can't lie." Duo stopped mid-pace and slowly turned to look at his friend.

"You bugged his house." Wufei watched as realization slid into place on his friend's face. "You fucking bastard." Wufei shook his head.

"Don't turn this on me, I was doing my job. I'm supposed to have my eyes and ears open all the time to try to figure out who in the hell wanted to kill him and his entire family! And you are supposed to be watching him! And that does not include falling in love with him!" Duo lunged forward and slapped Wufei, hard.

"If you're so hell-bent on doing your job right, maybe you should get someone watching both Relena and Zechs. And don't get in my way again." Wufei watched his partner leave and scowled. He may be acting out of line, but if he was then Duo certainly was. It was also his job to make sure his partner didn't get hurt, and that included falling for someone who was in a situation like the one Heero Yuy was in now.

________________________________________________________________________________

"This way." Duo said as he jogged up the stairs and fumbled with the keys, getting the door open. "Does Shini-chan want a snack?" The dog looked up at her master and her tongue lolled out when he nodded slightly. "Well, this is it! My apartment! If you ever need something, this is where I'll be. Most of the time." He added as he sauntered over to get a snack for Heero's guide. Okay, so he had stocked the place with an eye to bring the boy over, but hey, he couldn't help himself! 

"Oh, sorry!" Duo said, when he noticed that Heero and Shinigami were both standing by the door, looking a bit lost. "The sofa is over here." He took a step forward, ready to reach for Heero's arm when he remembered. "Shini-chan, do you mind if I take Heero over to the sofa?" She sniffed, and Heero chuckled as both his dog and his friend led him over to the sofa. "She can sit on the sofa too, if you want." Heero frowned.

"She can't. I already baby her too much, it's not good for her, she'll forget her job." Duo chuckled as the dog leaned her head on Heero's lap and the boy began to scratch behind her ears. "Duo, what does it look like?" He frowned. "The apartment?" Duo smiled.

"It's not much. It's smaller than yours, and not as stylish." Heero frowned as if just learning that his loft was stylish. "It's modest, and comfortable. Big over-stuffed chairs in the living room, which you are currently occupying. A small study, big bedroom and of course, the kitchen. Bright colours, red for kitchen, blue for the living room, green tiles in the bathroom and black and red in the bedroom." Heero had closed his eyes as if visualizing it all. Duo felt the urge to hug the boy but settled for handing Shinigami her snack and tossing himself into one of the nearby arm chairs. 

Duo stared at Heero for a moment, assessing the quiet boy before him, then he smirked. "How long has it been since you've been to a fair?" Heero frowned.

"Fair?" Duo shrugged.

"Yeah, you know, rides, games, fun?" Heero blushed a little and Duo took that as his answer. "Oh man! Come ON!! We've got to go!" Heero pressed back a little into the sofa, a movement which Duo knew meant that he wanted to disappear.

"It's not exactly like I can..." He left it open, but Duo knew what was bothering him. 

"I can take you! You don't really need to see to get a thrill out of the rides, and, Shini can wait by the gate, maybe Trowa and Quatre will hold her." Heero looked away. "Are you afraid to?" Duo stopped as soon as he said it. Sudden realization coming to him that perhaps sitting on a roller coaster that tossed and turned and rolled was a little too similar to being on a plain as it was in its death throes. And that Heero had to sit by himself in the darkness, left with his memories? "Shit, I'm sorry man." Duo said as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. Heero shook his head.

"It's fine. It's just..." There was an awkward silence in which Duo took the opportunity to smack himself in the head a few times. "...I used to always like the teacups." Duo frowned, then smiled.

"Then, come June, we'll ride the teacups!" Heero snorted. "Hey man, I'm hungry." 

"You're always hungry." Duo stood up and bounced towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, but I hear your stomach talking, and it was exactly speaking the language of love either, so, now I have an excuse to feed myself. How does pizza sound for you?"

"Good." 

"Excellent. Heero, my man, I think you and I are gonna get along just fine."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey, feeling better?" Heero nodded but accepted the pills his friend handed him. "Aspirins. They'll chase the rest of that cold away." He swallowed them and then returned to his thoughts. It took a moment then he heard a chair as it was pulled away from the table. "What's wrong?" Heero shook his head.

"Nothing, I just .. What does he look like?" He heard Trowa sigh and a slight chuckle. "What?" There was a pat on his arm and he frowned deeper.

"You still have it." Heero wondered what his friend was talking about before he remembered one time when they were at a nightclub, and a guy had been hitting on Heero. Trowa had mentioned something about Heero always attracting the good-looking guys. Heero blushed.

"But what does he look like. The image in my head is based entirely on his voice. It's just that ..." There was a pause, then Trowa sighed again.

"He has very long hair. Past his waist." Heero nodded, he had felt the braid. "He always wears it in a braid. It's a chestnut colour. His face is heart-shaped, I would say it would be a combination between your face and Quatre's. But his eyes are violet." Trowa smiled as he noticed his friend had closed his eyes. It wasn't hard to sense the energy between Duo and Heero, and he hoped that everything would turn-out well for his friend. "He's tall. About my height, and always wears dark colours." Heero smiled.

"He likes black." Trowa chuckled.

"Will that help with your fantasies?" Heero went beat-red and Trowa laughed heartily. Then smirked.

"One thing I forgot to mention." Heero frowned. "He can never keep his eyes off you." He watched as the message sunk-in. Heero was notoriously shy, if Duo wanted something from his friend, he would just have to take it. Even now, as he watched Heero, he could practically see the boy writing-off this revelation, ascribing it to the fact that maybe Duo didn't see a lot of blind people, or some other strange thing that would undoubtedly make sense in Heero's mind. Trowa shook his head. He hoped Duo would hurry-up and make his intentions clear.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Heero?"

"Nani?"

"I'm gonna come down. Just for a bit. Just to visit for a bit. You and I never get to see each other anymore."

"I'm fine. I would much rather just have time to myself, Relena."

"No. It's been long enough. It's about time you had a visitor."

"Quatre and Trowa are here. They visit me all the time."

"Heero. I can't have a repeat of January. Honestly, Heero. I couldn't bear it if it happened again." 

A pause.

"I'll come down there. I'll see you soon!"

________________________________________________________________________________

"A repeat of January? What the hell does that mean?" Wufei rolled his eyes and rewound the tape, listening to Relena repeat her tense statement. Sally looked at him with a frown.

"I don't know either. I'll look it up."

________________________________________________________________________________

Duo smiled at the image. 

Heero lay asleep on his couch. Curled up, one arm dangling down, touching the top of Shinigami's head as she lay beside the sofa. It was a choice moment, and Duo smiled before his attention was caught by something he saw, peeking out from the long-sleeved shirt the boy was wearing. A patch that seemed much lighter than the skin that surrounded it. Duo put his coffee down and walked calmly over. Squinting at the hand.

He patted Shinigami on the head as she looked at him questioningly, and reached forward, gently pulling the arm towards him, looking at the light patch.

__________________________________________________________________________________  
  


"January 13. Heero Yuy was found in his bedroom by his friend, Trowa Barton..."  
  


__________________________________________________________________________________

Duo stared and swallowed convulsively. Pulling the sleeve up to the elbow, unable to process it. He looked at the other arm, resting on the boy's slender side. He moved forward and pulled up the sleeve. He had to know...

___________________________________________________________________________________  
  


"He had slit both his wrists. It was the third suicide attempt. He was close to being successful. He was assigned a therapist, but several more attempts followed. It was seen as survivor guilt. After a while, the attempts just stop. He quit therapy about two months ago. The suicide attempts stop around the time that someone named Shinigami came to live with him."

"The dog."

"A dog?"

"He's blind."

"Oh. I didn't know..." A pause.

"Sally, Duo's getting in over his head."

"I know. But that's how he is."

"He can't take something like this happening to him again. After Solo..."

"This one is definitely not Solo. That was a bad choice, anyone could have told him that. Most people did."

"Heero Yuy is no different."

"Heero Yuy is very different. In two many ways to note."

"Still..."

"Trust him. Trust him this once."  
  


----------

TBC 

---------------

Jessenia: Just to let you know, there will be what could be construed as Zechs bashing. Uhm, I couldn't help it? It sorta had to be that way. And I know that Zechs in reality isn't much older than the boys, but neither is Relena. I had to change their ages. It just worked better this way. Please review!!!

Anyway, I'm really excited about this fic because originally I only had the first paragraph of the first chappy and the title, and NO idea what I was doing with it! Then I sat down yesterday and started typing, and all of a sudden I had four chapters!! I'm really happy about the feedback I've gotten. Please feel free to write more! I really really appreciate it! I'm so happy everyone is enjoying the fic so far!!


	4. Survivors

====================================

A Million Ways to Slay a Raven

Jessenia

====================================  
  
Chapter Four: Survivors

--------------------------------

  
  


Quatre frowned at the boy and shut the door to the bedroom. "What happened?" Duo shook his head, his world still spinning. "Duo?" The boy put his fists to the side of his head and frowned. "Duo, what happened?" Trowa came out of the kitchen and offered a glass of water to the boy who took it and drank greedily.

"He..." Trowa frowned.

"Take it slow. What did Heero do?" Duo looked stunned at his friend, wondering how the boy could appear so calm and composed when Heero...

"Tried to kill himself." Quatre and Trowa went rigid.

"...Again?" Quatre whispered. "Why?" Duo shook his head.

"No...he...his wrists... there were." Trowa let out a relieved huff of air and shook his head.

"Duo, that was a while ago." Duo felt his breath becoming ragged. Dammit, he never cried!

"But, why?" Trowa snorted.

"He spent over twenty-four hours, alone and blind in the freezing cold. Bleeding, with corpses of his family members, people who loved him. And of all of them, he was the only one who survived." Quatre put an arm around the startled boy's shoulders, guiding him to the sofa.

"Duo. Heero was in very bad shape after the crash. He tried on several occasions to...But that time, he came close. Very close to succeeding. But Duo, he stopped." He saw the boy's disbelieving look, still clouded with shock and fear. "When we brought him to earth and got him settled here, and Shini-chan came, and now it's okay." Duo shuddered. "I can't say everything is back to normal, because it isn't. But Heero hasn't tried anything in a long while, and he's been...happier. Especially since he met you, Duo." Duo looked at him, stunned, but for a different reason this time.

"Me?" Quatre nodded, smiling a little, and nearly laughed at Duo's wide grin. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, his grin turned into a dark look. "Shit." Quatre frowned.

"What?"

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Quatre turned helpless eyes to Trowa, who could only shrug.

"Duo, tell us what's wrong and we'll help you." Duo shook his head. There were several things that were wrong, eventually, he was going to have to tell Heero the truth, about his job, and about his feelings. But what was really on his mind was...

"We had a fight. It was my fault. When I saw the scars I just... And then he got defensive, and angry. And we were yelling full-out, that's why... that's why it happened," Quatre sighed. Heero sometimes had fits, when he couldn't really keep conscious. Nobody really knew what to make of it, except Quatre, who understood that it was Heero's way of preserving himself. In high emotional situations, when Heero felt extremely threatened, or worried that he would cause harm, he just ... shut down.

"Duo, it's okay. He'll be fine. When he wakes up, you can apologize to him. It will be fine." Duo nodded. "You should get some sleep. There's a guest room over there." He followed the blond and willingly flopped into bed, closing his eyes and giving-in to sleep with a sigh.

___________________________________________________________________________

The boy watched him. Dark brown eyes examining him, right down to the bone. He stared back. "Solo?" The boy blinked, then a slow smile, sinister and mean, split the boy's face.

"You remember me?" Duo trembled and thought of Heero, of his soft face as he smiled, just a small little smile. Solo could never be like Heero, Heero was beautiful.

"What do you want?" He asked, defensive and nervous.

"To remind you that I'm never going to leave you. That wherever you go, you will be haunted by me." Duo shook his head.

"No. Not anymore. I've moved on." Solo laughed, a short bark of laughter that was harsh to the ear.

"Not really. Your new little toy is filled to the brim with me. Did you see the scars? Did you hear about his other attempts? Trowa would understand you, you know. It was him, after all, who found Heero... Do you remember, Duo? Do you remember me?"

  
  


Flashes went through his mind. 

Of smiling, opening the door, calling out a name ...

Blood. Blood everywhere, he slipped on it as he ran to the limp form ...

He shook the body, calling softly ...

  
  


"No. I've moved on!" The evil grin again. He couldn't get away, not really. 

"Do you remember us, Duo?" Duo closed his eyes, wincing. Remembering the pain of being shoved against the wall, a slap across the face. Gasping for breath against a broken rib and then ... "I love you, Duo." 

"Can you really deserve him?" It was a new track. Duo closed his eyes. "He'll toss you away as soon as he knows how you feel about him. As soon as he sees through you. There are too many things working against you. You'll never break free of me, bitch. You're mine." Duo opened his eyes, anger burning through him.

Nobody talked to him like that.

Not anymore.

"No." He said. "I belong to no one. And I will make it work between me and Heero." More flashes, forgotten horrors, and Duo was suddenly beginning to doubt himself. Beginning to doubt whether it was possible for him ever to be happy.

But then a flash of a familiar face crossed through his mind and he smiled.

Heero was there. He was safe because inside he held the memory of that beautiful boy. And that boy was guarding his dreams.

"NO!!" He called and was tossed away from the image of Solo, sitting up and looking directly into Trowa's startled eyes.

Duo blushed. "I'm sorry." Trowa shook his head slowly, brushing the apology off. Duo sighed, then something he remembered from the nightmare crossed his mind. "You found him" Trowa looked at him calmly. "When he tried to ... It was you ..." Trowa nodded, a flicker of remembered pain crossing his face and Duo felt a surge of understanding. He had found a place where he fit, because each of these boys were committed to each other, devoted to each other. And Duo had always been like that. Only he had never found someone to be devoted to him. "I found my ... friend, too." Steady green held him and he looked away. "But ... he died." Trowa gently put a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry." Duo shook his head.

"No. Don't be. I'm not ... Not really. He was a bastard." Trowa looked at him for a moment, then nodded, as if to himself.

"We watch-out for each other. If you ever need help, Duo ..." He trailed off when he saw Duo's smile.

"Thanks, Trowa. I really appreciate it." Trowa nodded then stood. 

"Heero should be waking up soon." Duo nodded, rising anxiously.

"Trowa?" The boy stopped by the door and looked at him. "I don't know what to say to him." Trowa smiled, just a small hint of a smile, but Duo had gotten used to the quiet boy, and his expressions were never excessive.

"The truth. Trust yourself Duo. And trust him." Duo nodded.

_________________________________________________________________________

"Heero?" The boy lay in the bed stubbornly pretending to sleep. Duo sighed, stepping closer. "Heero, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry I blew-up in your face, it's just, when I saw what happened ... I was scared." The boy shifted in the bed, and Duo smiled faintly, at least this was proof that Heero was listening. "I was scared because I saw someone do that before, only they were successful. And I never wanted to lose someone like that again." Heero opened his unseeing eyes as if the statement had forced them open. "I didn't want to lose you, Heero." It was barely a whisper but Duo felt so stupid for saying it because there was no logical reason why he should feel like this towards the boy. No acceptable explanation as to how it was possible to have fallen in love with the boy he was supposed to be maintaining proper surveillance over, and in such a short time. But there was something that he had always felt towards Heero, even if he had only noticed it now.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Duo added. "And I'm really sorry that I did. But please, understand why I did it, and maybe, if you will, I'll earn your trust back." As soon as he said it, Duo felt like crying. There was no way he could earn Heero's trust back. Even if he did, he would only lose it again when the boy found out... He was lying to Heero, he was a snake slithering further into Heero's life trying to get closer ... for information. Heero would never believe that Duo had only ever wanted to protect him.

Duo wasn't even sure if he completely believed it.

"I don't like it when people yell." It was a whisper and Duo startled, he'd been so lost in his own thoughts, he had almost forgotten the other boy was there. 

"I'm sorry." 

"I'm sorry, too." Duo smiled and took a few steps forward, raising a hand and brushing a few errant strands from out of Heero's face. The boy jumped, probably not expecting the touch. Duo snatched his hand back. "I didn't mean to ..." Heero's tight, breathy whisper stunned Duo, excitement growing in the American's stomach.

"No ... It's just nobody has ever ... touched me like that for a long while ..." Duo returned his hand to run-through the soft hair. Heero sighed and closed his eyes. "I missed it." Duo smiled but soon Heero had fallen asleep. He waited a while, still stroking the soft hair before he sighed. He had to head back to check-in with Une and sort-out everything he had learned so far.

He had just shut the door to Heero's bedroom behind him, giving a thumbs-up to Trowa's curious look and smiled at Quatre. "I should ..." He was cut-off by a knock on the door. Quatre frowned at it before getting-up and putting the magazine he had been reading down.

"Hello?" Duo noticed that Trowa stiffened and that Quatre's formal posture had become just a little more formal.

"Relena." Duo's attention perked. Relena? Why was Heero's sister here? He wasn't sure if he should feel protective and stay, or follow orders and report. He remembered what Trowa told him /We watch-out for each other.../ Heero would be okay with Trowa and Quatre. 

She stepped around the blond and looked around the apartment. "I suppose one of you must have decorated." She said, and Quatre looked a little bit angry. "I was worried his place would look ridiculous because the people he got to do the work would take advantage of him." 

"Heero picked the colours, Relena. This is all his design." She raised an eyebrow as if she didn't really believe him and turned, glaring dangerously at Duo.

"Who are you?" Duo glared back at her. He didn't like her, the term 'bitch' came to mind.

"Relena, this is Duo Maxwell. A friend of ours." She raised an eyebrow, a false smile on her face.

"Heero mentioned you. The Good Samaritan, ne? Sweet." She turned away from him and walked around the loft, looking around before turning back to Quatre, knowing that she would not get a response from Trowa, and not wanting to speak to the America. "Where is he?" 

"Sleeping." She nodded, walking towards the only room she hadn't nosed-around in yet. She shut the door behind her. Duo looked at Quatre.

"What the hell was that?" Quatre smiled and shook his head.

"She doesn't like use because we're ..." He blushed and looked at Trowa who shrugged.

"... different." He added and Quatre giggled. It took Duo a moment before realization dawned.

"No way! You two are a ..." He caught himself and whispered. "... An item?" Quatre's blush deepened. He looked a little hesitant. "That's great!" Duo said, clapping a hand on the blond's back and beaming. Both boys looked a little flabbergasted. "I mean, I didn't want to say anything, but I was already planning to hook you two up. The chemistry...? Man! Good for you!" Quatre smiled at him, a big genuine smile.

"Thanks." Duo nodded.

"Anytime. Well, if you two can handle Princess Charming, I should head back now. See you later!" They nodded and he headed for the door. He tossed them both a thumbs-up before he shut it behind him, still grinning like a maniac. 

At least the idea wouldn't be completely foreign to Heero. He mused as he climbed the steps to Une's office. He might have a chance yet.

________________________________________________________________________________

Duo knocked again, wondering where his friend was. He heard footsteps and then a soft voice which he discerned was Quatre's before the door slid open and Quatre's tense face was revealed. "What's up?" Duo said, becoming serious.

"She took him." Was the cryptic statement and Duo flashed an odd look at Quatre as he stepped into the loft, shutting the door behind him.

"Who took what? And where?" Quatre shook his head as if clearing it. Trowa stood in the middle of the room holding a note in his hand looking a little stunned.

"Relena. She took Heero to a therapist." Duo felt a little bit relieved.

"That's not too bad." Quatre shook his head.

"Heero hates them, they drive him crazy. But she's trying to get over his fear of flying. She's trying to take him back to L1 with her." Duo frowned.

"Why?" Trowa crumpled the note and tossed it into the waste paper basket.

"She's always trying to keep tabs on him. It's a form of control for her. She's always been possessive of Heero." Duo started pacing, trying to work-out a strategy.

"Do you know where she took him?" Quatre nodded.

"On the east side there is a doctor who Heero used to go to a few months ago." Duo nodded.

"We'll take my car."

  
  


----------

TBC

--------

Jessenia: HA!! The abduction of Heero!! Oh, I do so love torturing that boy!!! I'm sorry for any Relena and Zechs fans who might be reading this fic. I am being awfully mean to them, it's only going to get worse. Please do not flame me!! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed so far!! You guys are fantastic!!! Keep reviewing!!!


	5. Come Into My World

====================================

A Million Ways to Slay a Raven

Jessenia

====================================  
  
Chapter Five: Come Into My World

------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
Duo had a plan and it was brilliant. 

He pressed down on the gas pedal and smirked as the car revved forward. He was vaguely aware of Quatre clinging to the seat in front of him, and Trowa clinging to the door handle, but Duo was focussed on his task. They were going to save Heero. "Uh. Duo?" The car purred as it notched up a speed. "This is the building." The car screeched to a halt as Duo expertly guided the car into an open spot. He was a pro, and it wasn't just from the course that Preventers made him take on how to drive a car in a high-speed chase. 

"Okay, let's go." Trowa reached a hand over, effectively stopping him. "What?" Duo scowled, and Trowa pointed.

"We don't have to." Duo followed where the slender brunette was point and saw Heero and Shinigami walking down the street. Relena came bounding out of the building they had been prepared to 'infiltrate' and was calling to him. Duo rolled down his window.

"Heero! Get back here! Don't pretend that you can't hear me!! Heero!!!" Duo shook his head and hopped out of the car. He bounded over to the Japanese boy and was vaguely aware that Shini-chan stopped, tail wagging. A perplexed expression crossed the boy's face before Duo spoke-up.

"Need a ride?" A smile slowly spread over the beautiful features and Duo felt his insides melt. Heero nodded, and Duo grinned and carefully took Heero's arm.

"Heero! What do you think you're doing?" Duo look unfazed at Heero's older sister.

"I'm taking him home." Duo said and opened the door for Heero who carefully situated himself in the back with Quatre. Relena bent forward to say something but Duo slammed the door shut. He turned back to face Relena and gave her a threatening glare. "He's not your toy. If you ever do that again, you'll have me to contend with." He flicked his braid over his shoulder and bounced over to his side of the car, opening his door and tossing her a wide grin. "Bye!" He called with a smile that belied the again that he had just previously displayed. And then he sped off.

____________________________________________________________________________

Three weeks since Duo had sped-off to rescue Heero from a psychiatrist and Relena still had not left. She was driving Heero crazy and Duo could sympathize. In an attempt to give the poor boy a break, Duo had invited his friend to take shelter for a few days at his house. 

It was, in all honesty, something that was really needed. Heero was not able to sleep, and could hardly keep his food down since he was constantly nervous. Duo had asked Quatre why Heero was so nervous around her, but Quatre had only looked darkly at their blind friend and then shook his head, as if that moment was not the right one.

Duo reported this back to Wufei, but his partner had no leads. One thing that had perked their interest was that Heero had a massive fortune. Wufei had written-up a report on whether it was possible Heero could still be a target and, in his research, had found that the vast majority of the Yuy fortune had been passed-down to Heero. At least, would be passed-down. The will had stipulated that Heero would receive the fortune when he was twenty-one. Duo had looked at Relena with a different eye after that, remembering something that Trowa or Quatre had said, that Relena had been greedy.

As suspicious as she was, Duo could not picture Relena being the mastermind behind that plain-crash. He knew there was something that he was missing, something that was made blatantly clear when Trowa had called him and asked him to check on their friend since Quatre and Trowa were going on a field-trip for the week. Apparently the quiet boy was concerned because Heero was wasting away. Quatre had elaborated and said this was often the way Heero behaved under stress. Impractical and maybe still a rub-off from his once suicidal behaviour, but Duo had nonetheless took pity on his frail friend and promptly absconded with him. 

They were now both in hiding in Duo's apartment.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Heero laughed, and Duo closed his eyes, coming to the conclusion that it was the most pleasant sound he had ever experienced. "I'm serious!" Duo added when the laughter had softened to a soft chuckle.

"Duo, the chances of any of that having actually happened are so incredibly slim ..." Duo snorted.

"Yeah, well. It may just be a story but it got you laughing, didn't?" Heero nodded.

"Yes." There was a pause and then Heero smiled, a small hint of smile that made Duo mirror the look. "Thank-you." Duo shrugged.

"Anytime." Heero yawned and Duo looked at the clock, and startled, a bit guiltily. "We should probably get you to bed." Heero shrugged.

"I'm not that tired." Duo snorted and hauled Heero up.

"That's an outright lie. It's four o'clock in the morning!" Heero stopped then shook his head.

"Okay. Good-night." 

"Night, Heero." He watched the boy, guided by his dog, enter his bedroom and shut the door. Duo sighed and flopped into the sofa, snuggling into the warm-patch where Heero had just been sitting. "He'll be the end of me." He whispered, then a grin split his face. "And what an end that will be."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"I got you a Christmas present!" Duo said at breakfast and Heero had looked confused.

"It isn't Christmas." Then, a bit hesitantly, "Is it?" Duo slid the package across the table, bumping it gently against Heero's fingers.

"Nope. Not yet. But it's come early just for you." Heero smiled softly and fumbled with the packaging. Duo watched with anticipation as the book softly plunked onto Heero's lap. A tentative hand ran over the cover, and the soft smile that had been on the boy's features spread.

'Sir Thomas Malory?" Duo smiled.

"The tale of King Arthur. Well, a chunk of it. There were too many, maybe I'll get you one each year." Heero smiled, he ran his fingers over the braille again. "I remembered you said you liked history, and I figured Arthur is one of the best." Heero smiled secretively and held the book close to him. It was massive, the braille made it bigger than it would have been usually, but Duo was so excited when he had found it. He had thought that maybe they didn't put books like that into braille.

"Thank-you." Duo smiled at him and ruffled the boy's hair.

"No problem." Heero waited in silence as Duo put-out breakfast. Scambled eggs, toast, orange juice. It wasn't much, but Duo wasn't much of a cook. Duo told Heero the rough placement of everything on his plate and Heero nodded, but held his fork, not eating.

"Duo ..." He said after a while. Duo shifted nervously in his seat. "You said it was a Christmas present. But ..." Duo winced. He was stupid, he shouldn't have drawn attention to it. But he had wanted to give the book to Heero, and had thought that even if it were painful, he still deserved something on his ... "but it's my birthday." Duo sighed and stood-up, kneeling down by Heero's chair and wrapping Heero's hands in his own.

"I know." Heero nodded but there was a pained expression on his face. Duo lunged forward just as Heero dropped into his arms and they stayed like that for a while. Duo wasn't sure how long, but then Heero pulled back and blushed a little, mumbling an apology under his breath, as if he were afraid Duo would hurt him. 

Duo couldn't take anymore. He couldn't think clearly, he'd felt Heero, how wonderful it was to have the boy pulled close against him and he couldn't get enough. He yanked the boy back into his arms and Heero, shocked by the action, slipped off the chair completely into Duo's lap. 

He wasn't sure how it happened, he was pretty sure he was the one who had tilted Heero's head back, but then they were kissing. Full-blown, hot and passionate. Devouring each other. 

It felt like ascending to heaven. 

Duo's entire body was on fire. 

He couldn't stop himself, his hands and body had a mind of their own. He slid a hand underneath the shirt that Heero wore, already conveniently untucked, and soon he felt his entire body shaking as he touched Heero. 

The boy was electric. 

The responses he would give, whimpers, sighs, gasps, were pushing Duo out of his mind and had to ask himself seriously if he minded. He decided he didn't.

He shifted Heero off his lap, pushing the boy to the floor and leaning over him. It was easier to access the sublime body beneath him. Heero was gasping for breath as Duo shifted his attention away from his mouth, taking his soft ear between his lips and biting gently. "Duo ..." It was a low breathless voice and Duo was driven crazy by it. 

"What?" He asked, voice husky. He couldn't stop shaking, it was overload, every cell driven crazy by the amazing boy beneath him.

"Why?" It was a bare whisper and Duo caught his breath. He became aware of two things.

One, Heero wasn't going to stop him. At this moment, the boy didn't care what Duo was going to do to him, he was going to let him do it. 

Anything. 

It was a complete surrender.

Duo bit his lip, senses returning to him.

The other thing he realized was that he simply could not take advantage of the boy. It meant too much. He sighed, fully in control of himself now, and he caressed the smooth cheek, earning him a shudder from the boy beneath him.

"Because, Heero. I love you." There was a gasp and the sightless eyes flew open. The expression was stunned, but, to Duo's astonishment, there was excitement in the boy as well. He sat back, confused. He wasn't expecting this. Wasn't expecting Heero to seem so enthralled by the prospect. 

He was still blinking in confusion when Heero raised a hand, savagely clinging onto his shirt-front and yanked. Duo yelped as he was pulled back down and blinked in surprise when he made contact again with that heavenly mouth. He moaned and closed his eyes. 

When they pulled back they were both breathless and Heero was smiling. Duo blinked in astonishment, love for the boy beneath him growing with each passing moment. "Good." Heero said, and closed his eyes, contented smile on his face. 

Duo knew that they couldn't go any further. It was too much too fast, and he wanted to savour every piece of Heero. The boy was simply too good to be true. Duo laughed in surprise and Heero blinked at him. "Come on." Heero tilted his head with a coy expression on his face and Duo shook his head, loving how animated the boy had become in just a few moments. "I'm hungry." Duo said, with a tone that implied he wasn't looking for food. Heero blushed.

"You're always hungry." He mumbled, and Duo laughed, pulling the boy into a tight hug.

"Only when you're on the menu." 

______________________________________________________________________________

Duo shifted uncomfortably for the nth time. Quatre frowned at him. "What's wrong, Duo?" The boy's face flushed and he looked down at his plate, poking at the beans he found there.

"Nothing." He said, voice cracking slightly. Quatre frowned and looked at Heero, who was sitting across from Duo. He looked completely composed, eating his food and not even focussing on the boy across from him. 

Quatre frowned. What was going on? 

"Gah!" Duo dropped his fork and looked guiltily around the table. Duo sat back looking a little tense. He quickly snatched the napkin from the side of his plate and dropped it onto his lap.

/Hn. A little late to be polite./ Trowa thought, then a slow smile split his face. He caught Quatre's eye, but the blond looked concerned. Trowa smiled.

"Heero." He said, in a calm voice. "Please remove your foot from Duo's lap and let the poor boy finish his meal." Quatre looked stunned at Trowa, then stared open-mouthed at Heero. Heero looked-up, smiling a little. Duo winced.

"Excuse me." He muttered and dashed off. Heero returned to his meal and Trowa shook his head.

"Now look what you've done." Heero shrugged but smiled to himself. Trowa felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't seen Heero smile like since ... His smile grew and he and Quatre couldn't stop grinning like idiots at each other as Heero continued, oblivious, eating his meal. "Happy birthday Heero." Heero put his fork down carefully and sighed.

"Thank-you. It is."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Relena shifted awkwardly in her seat and waited. She heard a door open and stood-up, "Heero?" She could hear the faint jingle of that dog and knew that Heero was finally awake.

"Heero, do you think it's wise to be traipsing off to the wilderness in your condition?" Heero stopped walking and smirked a little at her. She had never seen that expression on her brother's face. 

"Hello, Relena. I think that a vacation was exactly what I needed." She heard water running in the bathroom and frowned. Who...?

"Relena?" She blinked as a boy with a long braid bounced out of the bathroom and smiled.

"Who?"

"Oh really, Relena-san. It's me, Duo!" She shuddered. Of course, the cretin. "I'll make breakfast, Hee-chan." Heero nodded and Relena looked at them both.

"What...?" Duo rolled his eyes.

"Heero was exhausted after yesterday and he fell asleep before he made it to his bed, so I had to haul him up the stairs and get him situated. Can you believe that? Well, after all that I figured, fuck it. I'm just gonna sleep right here." Duo shrugged again and bounced over to the kitchen where he began opening all the cupboards, examining their contents.

"Are you okay, Heero?" Heero was still smiling a little and she blinked. But the smile was gone. Heero nodded.

"I suppose you'll be wanting something to eat, ne Relena?" Relena spun around, still confused.

"Uh. No, thank-you ... I just ... no." She looked at the sofa where a blanket and pillow were tossed. "I just ... Heero ... I have to go." She left quickly and Heero sat at the table.

"What's wrong with her?" Heero shrugged.

"Why did she think I was in the wilderness?" He heard Duo's warm chuckle and couldn't help smiling wider.

"Well, I couldn't say you were staying with me, she'd track us down! So I said you were on vacation." Heero shook his head. "Well, I had to say something!" Heero raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, forget it! That's the last time I try to help you!" To Duo's surprise Heero flashed him another coy look. "You devil! I can't believe, I mean ..." He was cut off as Heero, estimating his proximity, snatched at his shirt and pulled Duo forward.

Duo stopped complaining.  
  


-------------

TBC

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Jessenia: Yeah, after the angst I needed to toss in some fluff. Now I have to stir accordingly! I hope everyone is enjoying so far!! Thanks so much for the reviews!! I really appreciate. More please! See you in the next chapter.


	6. TossedOut of Paradise

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A Million Ways to Slay a Raven

Jessenia

====================================  
  
Chapter Six: Tossed Out of Paradise

-------------------------------------------  


It had been a little over a month that had passed without incident. Une, the head of the Preventers unit, was proud that her two best agents seemed to have the situation under control. Duo was relieved from constantly reporting to the agency lest it destroy his cover, but was making good progress. 

Wufei was maintaining surveillance and reported that everything seemed good. 

But there was still no clear lead. 

Surveillance on both Relena, who stubbornly remained near Heero, still pestering the boy and Zechs, who was on L1, turned-up nothing. This was making Une impatient. It wasn't until mid-January that things began to change. 

Or, more precisely, get completely fucked-up.

Zechs disappeared. 

Une assigned numerous agents to track him down, but the one person who found him was the one person who had not been looking.

____________________________________________________________________________

Heero laughed.

Quatre and Trowa both looked stunned and turned to Duo who shrugged. Heero had started laughing more often, and smiling as well, and by the reactions Trowa and Quatre always flashed at Duo, this was something new.

"Okay. Think long and skinny." Duo said.

"Trowa." Quatre said, and they laughed again.

"No. Uhm. Not animate. Uhm. Think, school-related. For writing... aw shit." Duo smacked his head. Heero flopped back against the chair he was sitting in.

"Okay, someone else replace Duo, that's the seventh time he's said one of the taboo words." Quatre frowned.

"But what is it?" 

"Pencil." Trowa added calmly. Light dawned in the blond's eyes.

"Oh. I'll take over." Quatre said, grabbing the box. Trowa stopped him.

"It's getting pretty late." Quatre looked at the clock.

"Oh my. I didn't realize." Duo looked at his watch and felt a bit guilty.

"Sorry, guys! I hope you still make it to class on time tomorrow." Trowa rolled his eyes.

"We will." They stood and headed to the door. Heero followed them, hand resting on Shinigami's head. Quatre looked at his friend, a lost look of admiration in his eyes and he reached forward, hugging his friend.

"Bye Heero. Take care of him, Duo." Duo blushed, but Heero was standing still, looking stunned. He was still standing there when Trowa and Quatre had left. 

He was still standing there when Duo turned off the kitchen light and asked him if he was planning on going to bed. So it seemed only natural that there should be a knock at the door. After all, there was a sentinel there waiting to answer it.

"Heero!" Duo recognized the squeal and turned around in time to see his boyfriend's older sister lunge at his boyfriend and pull him into an intense hug. "There's something really important I have to ..." She glowered at Duo when she saw him, and Duo felt his mouth go dry. "What are doing here?" She growled and the way she moved to stand between him and Heero, Duo knew that whatever was going to follow was going to be bad.

"He was visiting me." He said, completely calm, and Duo tried to calm himself. 

"You should go." She said, not even listening to Heero.

"He'll go when he wants to." Relena turned and grabbed her brother's shoulders. 

"Heero, there's something I have to tell you." Heero growled and Duo felt a shiver run-up his spine. Heero was getting angry, and it was creepy.

"Then tell me." 

"You should sit down, I'll help ..." Duo was equally startled when Shinigami started to growl, and Relena back-off a bit.

"I'll stand." Flustered she tossed one dark look over her shoulder at Duo then turned back to her baby-brother.

"He's been lying to you, Heero. He's not who he says he is." Duo went cold. How the hell had she found out? How could she know? "He's working for Preventers. He's supposed to be tailing you. He's masquerading as your friend so he can gather evidence on you! It's all been a lie, Heero." Something happened that Duo couldn't see, but Relena suddenly stopped speaking and backed away a little, letting Duo see Heero's face. Shock and pain. 

Duo felt horrible.

"Heero, I ..." Heero shook his head slowly and looked away. Duo didn't know what he was thinking, but there was a hollowness in him that stung Duo. "I'll go." Duo said, stopping once when he was close to Heero, whispering so only Heero could hear. "I never meant to hurt you." But Heero didn't turn to look at him, and he left the loft feeling horrible.

It was even worse when, as he exited the building, Wufei caught up to him. "I'm sorry." Wufei mumbled and Duo stopped and glared at him.

"For what?" He snarled. "Did you tell her? Where the fuck do you get off, Wufei? I can't believe you!" Wufei caught him as he moved to storm off, and snarled at him.

"Why the hell would you think I would willingly blow our cover? You know damn well that money can buy anything! She didn't exactly have to search high and low." Duo ripped away and continued walking. "Duo, come on. Get in the car." Duo shook his head. "Duo. I'll take you back to your home. Your real home." Duo snorted and Wufei was shocked. He had only seen his friend like this once before, and even then it wasn't this bad.

"I was home, Wufei. And it felt great. So I'm going to wait. And you're going to stay the fuck away from me. Got it?" He moved off and Wufei didn't chase him.

"Why are you mad at me? I didn't do anything!" Duo kept walking and Wufei sighed. "I've only ever tried to help you." He whispered, before he returned to the car.

Not long after Duo left the building, Wufei saw Relena leave. He picked-up the phone, knowing Une had to be notified of the new situation.

___________________________________________________________________________

"Heero?"

"No, it's me."

"Trowa?"

"What happened?" A frustrated sigh.

"I've only ever been trying to protect him."

"What happened?"

"Relena told him ... She found out that I ... It's just that ..."

"I heard about that. What I want to know is why the hell you would toy with Heero like that. How could you do that to him?"

"I didn't lie! I didn't expect to fall in love with him! But I couldn't help it! I couldn't stop it! ... I wanted to tell him the truth but I was so worried ..." Trowa paused, hearing the ragged breathing. Duo was going to start crying, if he wasn't already.

"Duo. He's a wreck."

"I'm so sorry."

"You've got to tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"That you weren't BULLSHITTING him! He thinks you lied when you told him how you felt!"

"He won't talk to me, or haven't you heard the numerous messages I've left on his machine." Another pause as if Trowa were trying to figure out what to do now.

"I'll talk to him, but you need to tell me the whole truth."

"Okay."

"What was your job with him?"

"I-I had to protect him. My partner has security on him, but my job was to protect him."

"Why."

"Someone may be trying to kill him. Him, and the rest of his family. That's why the plane went down. I'm trying to make sure that whoever it is doesn't succeed, and at the same time figure out who it is."

"They made you go undercover for that?"

"No ... I just wanted to get closer to him ..." A sigh. 

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Trowa."

"Don't thank me. Friends watch-out for friends." Duo wondered if Trowa meant he was looking out for Heero, if he really meant he was looking out for Duo. Duo sighed and put the receiver down. He hoped to God that Heero would hear his friend.

______________________________________________________________________________

"Who is it?" Trowa frowned. The first word his friend had said in over a week and that was it.

"Who is what?" Heero huffed.

"Who's trying to kill me?" Trowa sighed.

"He didn't say." Heero sat back, curling into a ball and Trowa hated to see it. This was exactly how Heero was after the accident. Moody, depressed and edgy. "Heero, he really loves you." There was no response and Trowa gave-up for the moment, walking over to Quatre and whispering to him, careful of his friend's uncanny hearing sense. "How is he?"

"The usual." Quatre muttered darkly. Trowa wanted to curse. Heero looked awful. White as a sheet with dark circles under his eyes. And, as usual, he was refusing to eat. He watched as Shinigami crept over and put her front paws on the sofa, resting her head on Heero's hip. Heero didn't move. "Trowa? I don't know what to do. It's almost as bad as ..." Trowa nodded.

"I know. It'll be fine."

________________________________________________________________________________

Duo threw the vase against the wall.

It was satisfying when the damn thing broke into a million pieces that cluttered the floor. He stared at them, then sighed, turning to get a broom from the closet. He missed Heero.

/Why miss him, when you have me?/ A little voice, that had been blissfully silent for so long began to speak again.

/Because he is everything and you are nothing./ He retorted. "Now leave me alone." It felt good to be strong, to push back against the man who once pushed him. But here he was, torturing the one person he loved the same way as he himself had once been tortured. "Only he won't let me close enough to explain ..." 

He swept the bits of glass into the dust pan and was just getting up to empty when there was a knock on the door. He waited and it came again, more urgent this time. "I'm coming!" He said and looked for a place to put the dustpan. The knocking returned and he put it on the side-table he had always reserved for bills, jumping over the laundry he had once again forgotten to do and opened the door.

His mouth fell open.

"Heero?" The boy looked terrible, like a ghost. But there was genuine fear on his face. "What's wrong?" Heero seemed as if he was trying to figure-out which way to go. As if he was suddenly unsure if he had made the right choice. Duo glanced at Shinigami who was looking at him expectantly, and he grabbed Heero and pulled him inside, slamming the door closed and locking it. "Heero?" The boy was shaking and this unnerved Duo. "Hey, shh. It's okay." Heero snapped out of it and took a step back, out of his embrace. 

"You said you were trying to protect me." Duo nodded, then, realizing Heero couldn't see his reaction he added,

"Yes." Heero paused, the next coming out as a whisper.

"You said you l-loved me." Duo smiled.

"Yes." Heero seemed unsure for a moment.

"Did you really mean it?" Duo took a step forward.

"Yes." Heero sighed and swayed, as if suddenly he had said all that was necessary. Duo caught him before he slid to the floor. "What's wrong?" He asked, and Heero shuddered.

"He found me." He whispered before he passed-out. Duo frowned and started to pick Heero up, planning on putting him in the bedroom, but the phone rang. 

"God damn." Duo muttered, only half mad. It was hard to be angry when Heero was back in his arms. He put Heero on the couch and raced to the phone. "Hello?" Quatre's panicked voice was on the end.

"Where is he?"

"Right here. He's resting." 

"God, Duo. Please. Get someone down there. Back-up or something. Trowa and I did all we could but it wasn't ..."

"What?! What's going on!"

"He- he didn't tell you?"

"He said someone had found him. Then he passed-out!"

"Zechs. Duo, Zechs found him. It was getting really bad, but Trowa and I came over to visit. Shini-chan attacked Zechs and Heero got to the door. We could only stall him for so long. Duo, he might be coming straight for you."

"What does he want?" Duo said, suddenly very calm. He was in his element.

"I don't know. They've always had pretty brutal fights but this was ridiculous. Heero's blind! And Zechs was throwing punches as if Heero could still defend himself." Duo frowned. /Geez/ he thought /I wonder who was trying to kill Heero?/ 

"Okay. Are you okay Quatre?" There was a pause.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. And Trowa just has a few minor bruises. Just make sure he doesn't get Heero. Please, just do that." 

"Sure thing. And not just because it's my job." There was a sigh of relief.

"Thank-you, Duo." 

As soon as he put the phone down Duo picked it up again. He knew Wufei was probably on his way, knowing he would have followed Heero, but regardless, he and Heero needed a better place to hide.

"Sally?"

"Duo, what they hell? Heero's rogue! We don't know ..."

"He's here, Sal. Look, Zechs has apparently come down. He was attacking Heero. I think it's pretty clear who our assassin is. But we need to get Heero out of here. I don't think he'll be safe for very long."

"Okay. Wufei should be on his way, just hold on a bit. I'll send you coordinates for another safe-house. Then I'll arrange something for you both. Stay on guard." There was a pause then Sally added, "If you find any hard evidence of Zech's guilt, do pass it on." Duo snorted.

"Of course. Make sure you tell Fei to step-on it." 

"Okay."

Duo sat by the bed where he had moved Heero, holding a damp cloth against Heero's forehead and his gun with the other. There was a soft knock on the door, and Duo startled a bit. He put the cloth down and picked-up his gun, shutting the bedroom door and heading cautiously over to the front door. "Who is it?" He called, but there was silence, then the knock again. /You must think I'm a moron./ Duo smirked. He sat on the sofa, gun pointing at the door, resting on his other arm. "Alright, you son of bitch. Let's see what you think of me now." The knock came again and he waited.

Then the soft knock became a pounding that shook the door. Whoever this guy was, he was strong. The banging increased, and Duo cursed. The door was ready to give. He sat and waited, one more kick and the entire door fell inwards. Duo saw Zechs, longing blond hair hanging past his shoulders, steel blue eyes glaring simply and the man smiled. "Hello." He said. "Where's my brother?" Duo was stunned, the man was acting as if he had just been invited in normally. 

Then the tall man lunged, just as Duo got his bearings back and fired a shot. It clipped the man in the side, but it didn't stop him, he was on Duo in a second and they were desperately trying to aim the gun at each other. Duo was soon losing the battle. He was strong, but Zechs was stronger. 

He squirmed and kicked Zechs in the side but the taller man smiled sinisterly and tossed the gun away, clamping his hands around Duo's throat. He could hear Shinigami in the other room, barking and snarling, thrashing her claws against the door, and vaguely wondered when the hell she had become a guard-dog. He wanted to laugh because it was his need to protect Heero that had made him lock the bedroom door, but he had blocked a valuable ally.

His vision started to blur and Duo was pretty sure this was going to be it when there was a thunk and Zechs keeled over. "You okay?" Duo looked dazedly up and Wufei and smiled.

"Yes." he croaked and Wufei smiled a little, offering a hand.

"Where's Heero?" Duo tossed his head towards the bedroom door, not trusting his voice. Wufei tossed a pair of handcuffs and nodded towards Zechs. "We aren't allowed to arrest him, but I see no harm in delaying the bastard." Duo nodded and quickly secured Zechs while Wufei opened the bedroom door. When the snarling didn't cease, Duo ran over and waved at Shinigami.

"It's okay, he's a friend. He's not going to hurt Heero." She looked doubtful and Wufei rolled his eyes.

"You help him, then." Duo nodded and carefully tried to shake Heero awake. The boy was being uncooperative. "Just carry him, Duo. We're in a rush. The car's parked out front." Wufei covered them as Duo carefully carried Heero out of the apartment building, letting Shinigami jump into the back seat before settling Heero back there. He caught Wufei's eye and the Chinese boy nodded. Duo gratefully slid into the backseat. Propping Heero's head on his lap, and brushing the soft brown hair out of his face.

"You okay?" Wufei asked again when they had gotten the co-ordinates and were well away from the apartment. Duo nodded.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." Wufei nodded,

"It's fine. I understand." Duo nodded and sighed. Wufei glanced again in the rearview and smiled at his friend who was staring longingly at the boy who was stubbornly asleep. "You're right, you know." Duo looked up, a little startled. "He is different." A slow smile spread across Duo's face.

"Thank-you." he said again. And Wufei nodded, refocusing on the road. 

* * *

TBC 

Hello! This is really important so please bear with me.

1. Does anyone have any interest in being my beta reader? I'm not picky about deadlines or anything, but I want you to be thorough and no cutting-up my work as you edit! ^_^ If so, email me at little_shaman29@yahoo.ca

2. This fic, (As you well know) has been on hiatus for a long while. In fact. All my fics have been. I'm really sorry but there has been a lot of stuff going on that's made it impossible to write. I'm trying to polish everything and ease back into it but it will likely be a while before anything really starts progressing. So, I apologize and try to understand, life has just been playing hardball with me for a while.

3. Please review. This is unbelievable incentive to get me working again and I would really appreciate hearing from anyone/everyone. Thanks to those who have reviewed thus far and have found their way back here. Your patience is unbelievable. 


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